Spanish band La Hora Exacta released their debut album “Mind Games” that dabbles with more than one sound in a genre-bending voyage through the Mediterranean.
The project, based in San Sebastian, travels from alternative rock pop, to dark wave, psychedelic, and beyond. Each of the 13 songs on the album tells a different story that is enlightening to the ears – even if you don’t understand Spanish.
Tracklist:
- Hojas Blancas
- Maybe It is Time to Say Farewell
- Desistir o Resistir
- Ay Perdon (Pago y Apago)
- La Hora Exacta
- El Reconocimiento
- En los Bajos Fondos
- Acusar sin Perdonar
- Mind Games
- Maybe You Get Lucky Too
- Serpientes Que Nunca Muerden
- Sigo por Aqui
- Uno a Cero
“La Hora Exacta” track, named after the band, opens up with sinister whispers that send chills down your spine, before the ethereal vocals of the female vocalist tells you a bedtime story accompanied by the soft piano strums, quirky synths, and catchy percussion in the background.
As for the title of the album, “Mind Games” song kicks off with vocals in the higher register that tickles your ears, with the bold piano tunes carrying the vocal line to an almost chatty-like conversation between two people talking over each other. You feel like you’re eavesdropping on a personal discussion as the song reaches its peak in the middle of it and shifts gears onto a completely different sound!
“La Hora Exacta was born out of the idea of creating a “book of life”,” shared the band. “… and “Mind Games” is the result of more than three years of creative work, of making new versions of the songs, over and over again, until that in the end we arrived at a final result, which for us represents something new, a new way of understanding music, that does not follow conventional rules or predetermined ways.”
All in all, it’s pleasant hearing all the quirky vocals echoing together in unity on tracks like “Maybe You Get Lucky Too,” and the rock vibes of “Maybe It is Time to Say Farewell.” The listening experience can be different from one person to the other, some might view the music as a fantasy, and others can feel like they’re living a nightmare instead!